Mentoring Children with Learning Disabilities - Essay Example

ns those children who have a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, read, write, spell or to do mathematical calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia and developmental aphasia. The term does not include a learning problem which is primarily the result of visual, hearing or motor handicaps or mental retardation, or emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural or economic disadvantage” (U.S. Office of Education, 1977, p. 65083) "Gifted and talented are those .

with demonstrated achievement and/or potential ability in . (a) general intellectual ability, (b) specific academic aptitude, (c) creative or productive thinking, (d) leadership ability, (e) visual and performing arts, and (f) psychomotor ability." (Cooper, 1995). This definition now included skills which are not easily manifest, and to successfully and credibly label someone as “gifted” many processes are necessary than mere parental observation. Benjamin J. Lovett and Lawrence J. Lewandowski (2006) did a thorough research on the identification of students who are gifted and at the same time have learning disabilities.

It attempts to pin down a concrete system of screening of the population of the gifted with learning disabilities (G/LD). Children who manifest both giftedness and learning disability often get frustrated due to the duality of their abilities. Although they may have a vast knowledge of certain themes, they still manifest an inability to demonstrate academic achievement. They have feelings of inadequacy because of inner conflicts of knowing how smart they are yet they cannot perform at par to their intelligence (Shevitz et al, n.d.).

It is specifically for these cases of children that the Wings Mentor Program was established. A